r 


I^bor  political 


LABOH  AND  POLITICS 


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NDOLPH    HAYNES 
;LJ    FOUNDATION 


Political  Labofr P£rty 


Be  Formed? 


AN  ADDRESS  BY 

SAMUEL   GOMPERS 

President  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 

TO  A  LABOR  CONFERENCE 

Held  at  New  York  City,  December  9,  1918 


Endorsed  and  Directed  to  be  Published  by  the  Executive 

Council  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 

Headquarters,  A.  F.  of  L.  Building 

Washington,  D.  C. 


PRICE,  TEN   CENTS   PER   COPY 


FRANK  MORRISON 

Secretary 


SAMUEL  GOMPERS 

President 


THE  JOHN  RANDOLPH  HAYNES 
DORA  HAYNCO  FOUNDATION 

LIBRARY 


Should  a  Political  Labor  Party  Be  Formed? 


AN  ADDRESS 

By  SAMUEL  GOMPERS,  President  A.  F.  of  L. 


The  following  address  by  President  Gompers  was  fully 
considered  by  the  Executive  Council  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  and  unanimously  endorsed.  The  address 
expresses  the  judgment  of  the  Executive  Council  to  protect 
and  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  the  workers  and  of  the 
labor  movement  of  America.  It  conforms  to  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor,  Article  III,  Section  8: 

"Parly  politics,  whether  they  be  Democratic,  Repub- 
lican, Socialistic,  Popullstic,  Prohibition,  or  any  other, 
shall  have  no  place  in  the  Conventions  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor." 

While  local  and  central  bodies  and  state  federations 
may  enter  into  the  political  field,  either  independently  or 
otherwise,  it  is  not  within  their  province  to  form  or  become 
part  of  a  national  political  party.  —  Adopted  by  the  Executive 
Council  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.  at  its  meeting  held  in  New  York  City 
on  December  28,  1918. 


The  St.  Paul  Convention  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  authorized  the  creation  of  two  committees — one  upon  Recon- 
struction, the  other  upon  Social  Insurance.  These  two  com- 
mittees were  called  together  to  organize  and  to  proceed  with  their 
work  of  investigation. 

A  number  of  labor  men  of  New  York  and  elsewhere  had 
written  to  President  Gompers  asking  for  an  expression  of  opinion 
upon  the  proposed  formation  of  a  new  political  labor  party 
at  this  time.  Desirous  of  complying  with  that  request  in  the 
most  comprehensive  manner,  he  invited  the  above  committees 
to  meet  in  New  York.  He  also  invited  a  number  of  labor  men 
and  women  in  and  around  New  York  to  meet  him  in  joint  ses- 
.  sion  at  the  Continental  Hotel,  New  York  City,  Monday,  De- 
cember 9,  1918.  As  the  list  of  names  printed  on  the  last  pages 
of  this  pamphlet  will  show,  there  was  quite  a  representative  gath- 
ering. 

In  his  address  President  Gompers  briefly  referred  to  some 
features  of  and  made  some  suggestions  in  connection  with  the 
principles  of  reconstruction  and  also  of  social  insurance.  These 
were  printed  in  the  January,  1919,  issue  of  the  American  Federa- 
tionist  but  are  omitted  here  so  that  the  one  subject,  that  of  the 
creation  of  a  new  National  Political  Labor  Party  may  be  con- 
sidered by  itself.  The  address  of  President  Gompers  follows. 


PRESIDENT  GOMPERS'  ADDRESS. 


And  now,  a  consideration  of  the  subject  I  have  in  mind 
and  for  which  I  have  asked  the  gentlemen  of  the  commit- 
tees and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  labor  to  participate  in 
this  conference. 

In  the  last  few  weeks  there  have  been  published  certain 
situations  which  exist  and  certain  movements  which  were 
about  to  be  inaugurated.  In  a  few  of  the  cities  that  situa- 
tion and  that  movement  have  become  accentuated.  In 
Chicago,  New  York  City,  and  two  or  three  other  places  the 
labor  movement  has  expressed  itself  through  the  central 
bodies  in  favor  of  the  formation  of  a  political  labor  party.' 
No  man  has  the  right  to  look  upon  such  a  move  lightly, 
or  without  deep  consideration  or  deep  concern.  Either  the 
proposed  movement  about  to  be  inaugurated  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  political  labor  party  is  good,  or  it  is  bad.  Either 
it  is  advantageous  or  it  is  injurious,  and  the  purpose  of  my 
asking  that  we  meet  this  afternoon  is  to  present  to  you  some 
facts  upon  that  'subject. 

You  who  were  in  the  movement  of  long  ago  will  remember 
that  to  which  I  refer.  We  had  in  the  United  States  a  fairly 
growing  labor  movement  of  some  trade  unionists  in  some 
form  of  a  federation  called  the  National  Labor  Union.  That 
organization  went  along,  inspired  good  spirit  and  activity 
among  the  workers,  and  then  called  a  national  convention  for 
the  purpose  of  nominating  a  president  of  the  United  States. 
That  convention  met  and  nominated  Justice  David  Davis,  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  as  its  can- 
didate for  president,  and  after  nominating  Mr.  Davis  adjourned 
and  never  met  again.  The  trade  unions  then  in  existence 
fell  off  in  membership  until  the  organizations  became  very 
weak  and  ineffective.  Some  organizations  fell  by  the  way- 
side. Labor  was  in  a  most  deplorable  condition,  without 
opportunity  for  defense  and  robbed  entirely  of  any  power 
to  press  forward  its  rightful  claims. 

In  1885-1886,  after  a  few  years  of  precarious  early  ex- 


6 

istence,  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  tried  to  build  up 
up  and  extend  its  influence  and  organize  the  workers  into 
their  unions. 

In  1884  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  declared  for 
the  introduction  of  the  eight-hour  workday,  May  1,  1886. 
It  proposed  negotiations  with  the  employers  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  that  high  purpose.  The  movement  gained  great 
impetus  and  large  advantages  followed,  but  on  May  2  or  3, 
1886,  a  bomb  was  thrown  at  a  meeting  which  was  being  held 
at  Haymarket  Square,  Chicago,  which  killed  and  maimed 
more  than  twenty  policemen.  The  meeting  was  supposed 
to  have  been  held  in  the  interest  of  the  eight-hour  movement. 
The  wrath  of  the  people  which  was  aroused  against  those  in 
charge  of  the  Haymarket  meeting  gave  the  eight  hour  day  a 
severe  blow  and  set-back.  However,  the  eight-hour  day 
was  secured  for  the  workers  in  several  industries  and  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  hours  of  labor  from  16  to  12  or  from  12  to  10  became 
almost  universal  in  the  United  States.  But  the  eight-hour 
movement  as  such  was  destroyed  for  the  time  being. 

Due  in  part  to  that  incident  and  to  the  resentment  of 
the  workers  because  they  had  lost  so  much  that  they  could 
have  obtained  and  due  to  certain  local  conditions,  political 
rather  than  economic,  in  various  cities  the  local  movement 
undertook  political  campaigns  and  organized  a  political 
party  in  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  St.  Louis,  Boston  and  New 
York.  This  resulted  in  the  organized  labor  movement  of 
New  York  City  launching  into  a  compaign  which  nominated 
Henry  George  as  Mayor  of  the  city.  It  was  my  privilege 
to  enter  into  that  campaign  with  the  men  (there  are  a  few 
of  them  in  this  room  now)  who  were  active  at  the  time.  I 
aided  to  the  very  best  of  my  ability.  Henry  George  received 
68,000  votes  and  came  very  near  election.  Some  claim  that 
he  was  really  elected,  but  that  in  the  last  hours  many  of  the 
supporters  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  who  was  the  mayoralty 
candidate  of  the  Republican  party  abandoned  him  and  cast 
their  votes  for  Abraham  S.  Hewitt  who  was  the  democratic 
candidate  for  Mayor. 

After  the  campaign  closed   and   the  election  was  held, 
the   movement   took   on   another   phase.     It   was   called   the 


Progressive  Labor  Party.  They  admitted  to  membership 
not  only  the  men  of  organized  labor  but  what  had  popularly 
been  called  by  a  great  many  the  "brain  with  brawn"  or  "brain 
with  labor."  The  campaign  was  carried  on  with  such  scandal- 
ous results,  that  nearly  all  the  men  of  labor  who  had  some 
self-respect  had  to  hold  themselves  in  the  background  for 
fear  that  they  might  be  besmirched  with  the  incidents  which 
occurred  in  the  campaign. 

A  man,  an  extremely  rich  man,  in  business  in  the  city 
of  New  York  at  the  time,  was  induced  to  become  the  can- 
didate for  Mayor  as  the  representative  of  labor.  I  think 
it  was  Mr.  Coogan,  a  man  engaged  in  the  furniture  business. 
Mr.  Coogan  had,  I  was  informed,  wonderful  experience  in 
financial  transactions  of  which  he  was  not  entirely  and  fully 
aware  until  it  was  all  over.  By  the  way,  there  was  a  popular 
phrase  which  came  into  effect  right  at  that  time,  "Wass  ist 
loos  mit  Coogan."  (What  is  the  matter  with  Coogan.) 

I  mention  these  things  of  our  own  country,  and  now  I 
want  to  mention  a  few  things  of  other  countries  of  which  I 
have  been  a  personal,  intimate,  and  close  observer. 

In  Germany,  the  trade  union  movement  having  been 
dissolved  by  Bismark  and  the  organizations  of  labor  not  hav- 
ing the  right  to  exist,  went  to  its  death  for  the  time.  Then 
when  there  was  a  slight  moderation  of  that  order,  the  trade 
union  movement  of  that  country  was  organized  from  the  top 
down.  There  were  executive  officers  who  imposed  their  will 
upon  the  rank  and  file.  There  was  no  democracy  of  admin- 
istration, of  construction,  or  of  the  right  of  the  membership 
to  determine  policies.  Benefits  were  paid  by  the  officers 
of  the  general  organization.  These  officers  had  the  power 
to  determine  whether  the  workers  were  entitled  to  the  insur- 
ance and  other  benefits.  It  was  a  matter  of  power  vested 
in  the  executives.  You  can  imagine  how  necessary  it  was 
for  the  rank  and  file  to  endeavor  to  curry  favor  with  the  execu- 
tives in  order  that  they  might  not  be  discriminated  against 
unfairly. 

In  1905  I  was  in  Hamburg  and  Bremen,  in  consultation 
with  the  officers  of  the  general  labor  movement  of  Germany. 
Among  whom  were  Legien  and  Von  Elm.  They  were  not 


8 

permitted  to  hold  public  meetings  dealing  with  any  subject 
affecting  labor  or  the  government.  Before  I  reached  there 
Mr.  Von  Elm,  with  whom  I  had  been  in  correspondence  be- 
cause he  belonged  to  the  Cigarmakers'  International  Union 
here,  of  which  I  am  a  member,  invited  me  to  deliver  an  address 
in  German  in  a  public  meeting  before  five  or  ten  thousand 
persons,  but  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  address  them  in  Ger- 
man because  an  address  in  any  other  language  but  German 
would  ndt  be  permitted.  I  could  speak  and  read  German 
but  I  did  not  feel  competent  to  deliver  an  address  in  the 
German  language  before  a  gathering  of  five  or  ten  thousand 
people.  I  was  afraid  of  my  own  weakness  and  that  possibly 
by  reason  of  grammatical  errors  some  might  say:  "Well,  if 
he  can  not  speak  he  ought  not  to  try  to  speak  to  us,"  and 
thereby  discount  anything  I  might  say.  Therefore,  I  declined 
it.  They  agreed,  however,  to  call  a  social  gathering.  Invita- 
tions were  sent  out  to  132  people  to  attend.  The  full  number 
responded.  I  spbke  to  them  in  the  German  language,  but 
the  meeting  was  secret.  The  unions  were  struggling  for 
the  right  to  meet  as  unions  and  to  have  the  guarantee  of 
the  law  for  their  legal  right  to  maintain  their  organizations 
and  to  hold  such  meetings;  in  other  words,  the  right  of  free 
association.  I  had  the  assurance  of  Von  Elm,  Legien  and 
others  that  the  Socialist  political  party  of  Germany  denied 
the  demand  made  by  the  trade  unions  to  work  to  secure  from 
the  government  a  law  guaranteeing  the  workers  the  right 
to  organize  as  a  free  association  of  workers.  The  Socialist 
political  party  of  Germany,  which  is  the  only  political  party 
claiming  to  be  the  workmen's  party,  denied  the  union  labor 
movement  of  Germany  the  right  to  take  political  action  in 
order  to  secure  the  lawful  right  for  its  existence. 

The  French  organized  labor  movement  is  not  extensive. 
Some  of  the  most  completely  organized  unions  are  wholly 
out  of  touch  with  the  Confederation  Gin£rale  du  Travail, 
that  is,  the  French  Federation  of  Labor,  because  they  want 
to  exercise  their  individual  right  of  trade  unionism  and  trade 
union  action.  To  the  Inter-Allied  Labor  Conference  in  Lon- 
don in  September,  there  came  a  delegation  from  France  of 
three  or  four  men  representing  the  French  Federation  of 


9 

Labor  and  then  a  delegation  of  about  seven,  eight  or  ten  rep- 
resenting the  majority  Socialist  party  of  France  and  about 
that  same  number  representing  the  minority  Socialist  party. 
The  vote  of  the  delegation  was  divided  between  the  majority 
and  minority  Socialist  party  and  the  French  Federation  of 
Labor.  The  political  party  dominates  the  trade  union  move- 
ment of  France. 

In  England  there  is  the  British  Trade  Union  Congress, 
the  British  Federation  of  Trade  Unions,  and  the  Labor  Party. 
For  the  discussion  of  business  when  the  conventions  of  either 
party  are  not  in  session,  they  meet  jointly  in  conference  throifgh 
the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  British  Trade  Union 
Congress  and  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Labor  Party. 
Quite  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee of  the  British  Trade  Union  Congress  are  members 
of  the  Labor  Party,  and  quite  a  number  of  them  who  hold 
their  seats  in  Parliament  are  members  of  the  Labor  Party. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Labor 
Party  dominates  the  entire  movement  of  England. 

At  a  conference  held  at  Derby,  England,  in  September, 
1918,  the  executive  officers  of  the  Labor  Party  presided  and 
dominated  the  proceedings.  And  all  the  time  that  I  was  in 
England  I  never  heard  of  a  phrase  like  this:  "The  British 
Trade  Union  movement  and  the  Labor  Party."  I  never 
heard  it  said:  "The  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  British 
Trade  Union  Congress  and  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Labor  Party."  It  was  always  the  Labor  Party  and  the  Trade 
Union  Congress.  The  Labor  Party  of  England  dominates 
the  labor  movement  of  England. 

When  the  Inter-Allied  Labor  Conference  opened  in  Lon- 
don, September  17,  early  in  the  morning  there  were  sent 
over  to  my  room  at  the  hotel  cards  which  were  intended  to  be 
the  credential  cards  for  our  delegation  to  sign  and  hand  in  as 
our  credentials.  The  card  read  something  like  this:  "The 
undersigned  is  a  duly  accredited  delegate  to  the  Inter-Allied 
Socialist  Conference  to  be  held  at  London,"  etc.,  and  giving 
the  dates. 

I  refused  to  sign  my  name,  or  permit  my  name  to  be 
put  upon  any  card  of  that  character.  My  associates  were 


10 

as  indignant  as  I  was  and  refused  to  sign  any  such  credential- 
We  went  to  the  hall  where  the  conference  was  to  be  held. 
There  was  a  young  lady  at  the  door.  When  we  made  an  effort 
to  enter  she  asked  for  our  cards.  We  said  we  had  no  cards 
to  present.  "Well,"  the  answer  came,  "you  can  not  be  ad- 
mitted." We  replied:  "That  may  be  true,  we  can  not  be 
admitted,  but  we  will  not  sign  any  such  card.  We  have 
our  credentials  written  out,  signed,  and  sealed,  and  will  present 
them  to  any  committee  of  the  conference  for  scrutiny  and 
recommendation,  but  we  are  not  going  to  sign  such  a  card." 
Mr.  Charles  Bowerman,  Secretary  of  the  Paliamentary 
Committee  of  the  British  Trade  Union  Congress,  at  that 
moment  emerged  from  the  door.  He  asked  why  we  had  not 
entered.  I  told  him  the  situation  and  he  persuaded  the  young 
lady  to  permit  us  to  pass  in.  We  entered  the  hall  and  pre- 
sented our  credentials.  Mr.  James  Sexton,  officer  and  rep- 
resentative of  the  Dockers'  Union  of  Liverpool,  arose  and  called 
the  attention  of  the  conference  to  this  situation,  and  declared 
that  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  delegates  refused 
to  sign  any  such  document.  He  said  that  it  was  not  an 
Inter-Allied  Socialist  conference  but  an  Inter-Allied  Socialist 
and  Labor  Conference. 

Mr.  Arthur  Henderson,  of  the  Labor  Party,  made  an 
explanation  something  to  this  effect,  if  my  memory  serves  me: 
"It  is  really  regrettable  that  such  an  error  should  have 
been  made,  but  it  has  been  made.  It  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  old  card  of  credentials  which  had  been  used  in  former 
conferences  was  sent  to  the  printer,  no  one  paying  any  atten- 
tion to  it,  and  thinking  it  was  all  right." 

I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  significance  of  that 
explanation.  That  is,  that  the  trade  union  movement  of 
Great  Britain  was  represented  at  these  former  conferences, 
but  at  this  conference  the  importance  of  Labor  was  regarded 
as  so  insignificant  that  everybody  took  it  for  granted  that 
it  was  perfectly  all  right  to  have  the  credential  card  read, 
"Inter- Allied  Socialist  Conference,"  and  wi1;h  the  omission 
of  this  more  important  term  "Labor" 

The  fact  is  that  an  independent  political  labor  party 
becomes  either  radical,  so-called,  or  else  reactionary,  but 


11 

it  is  primarily  devoted  to  one  thing  and  that  is  vote-getting. 
Every  sail  is  trimmed  to  the  getting  of  votes.  The  question 
of  the  conditions  of  Labor,  the  question  of  the  standards  of 
Labor,  the  question  of  the  struggles  and  the  sacrifices  of 
Labor,  to  bring  light  into  the  lives  and  the  work  of  the 
toilers — all  that  is  subordinated  to  the  one  consideration  of 
votes  for  the  party. 

I  have  read  the  fourteen  points  which  have  been  formu- 
lated for  the  proposed  Labor  Party  here.  Is  there  one  of 
them  of  an  essential  character  to  the  interests  and  welfare 
of  the  working  people  of  the  United  States  which  is  not  con- 
tained in  the  curriculum,  the  work  and  the  principles  of  the 
bona  fide  labor  movement  of  our  country? 

Which  movement,  economic  or  political,  in  any  country 
on  the  face  of  the  globe  has  brought  more  hope  and  encourage- 
ment, more  real  advantage,  to  the  working  people  than  the 
trade  union  movement  of  America  has  brought  to  the  wage 
earning  masses  of  our  country? 

The  organization  of  a  political  labor  party  would  simply 
mean  the  dividing  of  the  activities  and  allegiance  of  the  men 
and  women  of  labor  between  two  bodies,  such  as  would  often 
come  in  conflict. 

In  the  British  Trade  Union  Congress  at  Derby  there 
were  divergent  views.  There  were  four  different  points  of 
view  upon  one  subject  before  the  Congress.  In  order  to  try 
to  unite  the  thought  a  committee  of  four  was  appointed  for 
the  purpose  of  trying  to  bring  in  some  agreed  proposition 
and  recommendation  for  adoption  by  the  Congress.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  days  the  committee  reported  a  resolution. 
For  the  purpose  of  conserving  time  the  four  members  of  the 
committee  representing  the  divergent  views  were  called  upon 
in  turn  to  express  their  views.  Each  in  turn  expressed  his 
own  view  and  placed  his  own  construction  upon  the  resolu- 
tion recommended.  Then  each  declared  that  he  was  going 
out  to  fight  for  his  own  view. 

In  our  movement  we  have  done  some  things.  We  have 
brought  together  more  than  three  million  workers,  organized 
into  our  trade  unions  and  belonging  to  the  American  Federa- 
tion of  Labor.  In  addition  there  are  between  four  and  five 


12 

hundred  thousand  workmen  in  the  Railroad  Brotherhoods 
not  affiliated  with  us  but  yet  in  accord  with  our  work  and 
our  policies.  In  other  words,  there  are  nearly  four  million 
of  .^organized  trade  unionists  in  the  United  States.  There 
is  not  always  harmony;  there  is  disagreement;  there  is  op- 
position, all  of  it  important,  all  of  it  tending  to  crystallize 
the  sentiment  of  unity  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Labor. 
The  American  labor  movement  occupies  the  field  of  activity 
without  yielding  one  inch  to  any  other  body. 

Mr.  Longuet,  representing  the  majority  Socialists  of 
France,  at^the  Inter- Allied  Labor  Conference  in  London, 
expressed  his  regret  that  what  he  called  the  American  So- 
cialist party  was  not  represented  in  the  conference.  He 
proposed  that  the  votes  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
delegates  should  be  reduced  because  the  American  Socialist 
party  was  not  represented. 

Who  are  we  going  to  have  as  the  leaders  of  this  new  po- 
litical labor  party  here?  I  understand  that  there  is  impatience 
among  our  fellows.  It  is  creditable  to  them  that  they  are 
impatient.  There  is  not  any  man  in  all  America,  or  in  all 
the  world,  more  impatient  than  I  with  the  progress  that  has 
been  made,  with  the  position  we  occupy.  I  want  more,  more, 
more  for  Labor.  I  think  I  have  tried  and  am  trying  to  do 
my  share.  My  associates  of  the  Executive  Council  have 
tried  to  do  their  share,  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  attempt- 
ing to  overrun,  and  by  over-running  to  defeat  the  object  we 
would  gain  for  the  wage-earners  and  to  throw  them  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  do  not  know  the  honest  aspirations  of 
Labor  or  who  would  direct  them  for  personal  aggrandizement. 

I  have  been  the  President  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  for  many,  many  years.  I  regard  that  position 
as  the  most  exalted  that  I  could  occupy.  I  have  no  aspira- 
tion to  hold  this  or  that  position.  It  is  not  that  I  ask  you  to 
follow  me.  I  ask  that  the  trade  union  movement  be  given 
its  fullest  opportunity  for  growth  and  development  so  that 
it  may  be  the  instrumentality  to  secure  better  and  better 
and  better  and  constantly  better  conditions  for  the  workers 
of  our  country. 

Here  we  are  in  this  transition  period  from  war  into  peace, 


13 

with  all  that  it  may  mean.  A  week  ago  last  evening,'  that 
is,  on  Sunday  evening,  December  1,  at  the  Century  Theater, 
I  delivered  an  address.  I  am  proud  of  the  address  I  delivered 
there  on  that  night.  I  do  not  think  that  any  one  realizes 
all  the  dangers  which  I  felt  and  tried  to  express  as  to  the 
situation  now  and  which  may  arise  in  the  near  future.  I  ask 
you  whether  the  creation  of  a  political  labor  party,  and  par- 
ticularly at  this  time,  would  help  to  solve  these  problems 
and  meet  these  dangerous  conditions?  If  ever  unity  was 
needed  for  the  toilers,  it  is  now. 

It  is  not  true,  as  some  carping  critics  allege,  that  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  is  a  non-political  organiza- 
tion. As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  workers  of  the  United  States 
and  the  organized  labor  movement  act  voluntarily  in  the 
exercise  of  their  political  right  and  power.  We  have  changed 
the  control  of  our  government  from  the  old-time  interests 
of  corporate  power  and  judicial  usurpation.  We  have  se- 
cured from  the  government  of  the  United  States  the  labor 
provision  of  the  Clayton  Anti-trust  I/aw,  the  declaration 
in  the  law  that  the  labor  o  f  a  human  being  is  not  a  commodity 
or  article  of  commerce.  In  that  law  we  have  secured  the  right 
of  our  men  to  exercise  functions  for  which,  under  the  old 
regime  our  men  were  brought  before  the  bar  of  justice  and 
fined  or  imprisoned.  We  have  secured  the  eight-hour  work- 
day not  only  as  a  basic  principle  but  as  a  fact.  We  have  secured 
the  Seamen's  law  giving  to  the  seamen  the  freedom  to  leave 
their  vessels  when  in  safe  harbor.  The  seamen  of  America 
are  now  free  men  and  own  themselves.  We  have  secured  a 
child  labor  law,  and  although  it  has  been  declared  uncon- 
stitutional, we  are  again  at  work  to  secure  a  law  for  the  pro- 
tection of  our  children.  Better  than  all,  we  have  established 
the  concept  in  law  and  in  administration  that  the  interest 
and  welfare  of  the  workers  are  paramount,  and  this  not  only 
in  the  laws  of  our  republic  but  in  the  laws  of  our  states  and 
municipalities. 

There  are  other  laws  in  the  interest  of  labotr  which  we 
have  secured,  more  than  I  can  mention  off-hand,  but  far  above 
all  these  are  the  improvements  brought  into  the  lives  and  work 
of  the  toilers  by  their  own  actions  as  organized  workers.  We 


14 

have  established  unity  of  spirit;  we  have  brought  about  the 
extension  of  organization  amotig  the  formerly  unorganized, 
and  our  organized  free  existence  to  function  and  to  express 
ourselves  is  now  practically  unquestioned. 

Suppose  in  1912  we  had  had  a  labor  party  in  existence; 
do  you  thirik  for  a  moment  that  we  could  have  gone  as  the 
American  labor  movement  to  the  other  political  parties  and 
said:  "We  want  you  to  inaugurate  in  your  platform  this  and 
this  declaration."  If  one  of  the  parties  had  refused  and  the 
other  party  consented  and  took  its  chance,  would  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Labor  have  been  permitted  to  exercise 
that  independent  political  and  economic  course  if  the  labor 
party  had  been  in  existence?  How  long  would  we  have  had  to 
wait  for  the  passage  of  a  law  by  Congress  declaring  law,  in 
practice  and  in  principle  that  the  labor  of  a  human  being 
is  not  a  commodity  or  an  article  of  commerce — the  most  far- 
reaching  declaration  ever  made  by  any  government  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world. 

I  say  this  to  you.  I  am  sixty -eight  years  of  age.  I  have 
been  tried  and  seared  as  few  men  have.  I  have  almost  had 
my  very  soul  burned  in  the  trials  of  life.  With  my  two  asso- 
ciates Mr.  Mitchell  and  Mr.  Morrison  I  have  suffered  the 
indiginity  of  being  brought  before  the  courts  of  our  country 
and  adjudged  guilty  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment.  Our 
eyes  were  wide  open.  I  do  not  think  that  it  is  improper  for 
me  to  say  that  I  led  in  the  thought  and  activity  of  that  work, 
of  that  willingness  to  suffer,  but  it  was  not  a  very  nice  thing 
to  have  the  endeavor  made  to  besmirch  our  honor  by  a  sen- 
tence of  imprisonment — Mr.  Morrison  six  months,  Mr. 
Mitchell,  nine  months,  and  I  twelve  months.  We  fought  that 
sentence,  fought  it  and  fought  it,  supported  by  the  activity 
of  the  organized  labor  movement  in  all  the  states  and  towns  of 
our  country,  until  the  principle  for  which  we  were  contending 
through  that  action  brought  about  the  incorporation  of  those 
provisions  in  the  Clayton  Anti-trust  Law  which  confirmed 
and  legalized  the  very  things  for  which  we  were  sentenced 
to  imprisonment.  They  were  legalized,  not  for  us  alone 
but  for  Labor. 

I  repeat,  we  have  secured  the  enactment  of  the  Sea- 
men's law,  the  right  of  a  seaman  to  quit  his  vessel  when- 


000 1  838  657 
15 

ever  his  vessel  is  in  safe  harbor  in  any  part  of  the  world,  a 
law  which  does  not  exist  in  any  other  country — secured  it 
by  our  political  activity  and  by  our  economic  powers.  Has 
anything  like  that  been  accomplished  in  any  country  of  the 
world?  Our  delegates  proposed  it  at  the  Inter- Allied  Labor 
Conference  in  September,  and  there  was  not  a  hearty  agree- 
ment to  stand  for  it  as  an  international  demand. 

I  think  you  know  that  I  have  been  most  cruelly  hurt 
in  the  recent  past.  Somehow  or  other  I  believe  that  there 
are  yet  considerable  years  of  fight  in  me  for  Labor.  I  have 
said  that  I  hold  the  position  of  President  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  in  the  most  exalted  estimation,  but  it  is 
not  that  for  which  I  am  contending;  it  is  not  that  which  I 
would  want  to  keep  one  moment  beyond  the  time  when  I 
can  no  longer  be  of  service  to  my  fellows.  The  only  thing 
that  I  can  leave  to  my  fellow  men  is  that  I  have  helped  in 
trying  to  bring  about  a  labor  movement  in  our  country  that 
is  better,  more  comprehensive  and  more  united  than  in  any 
other  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

I  wanted  to  present  these  thoughts  to  you.  I  did  not 
have  in  mind  any  particular  theme  or  course  to  present  to 
you.  I  know  I  feel  and  understand  and  apprehend  the  danger 
which  is  involved  in  the  project  which  is  now  being  so  very 
actively  agitated  in  some  quarters  of  the  labor  movement 
of  our  country.  I  fear  no  danger,  I  am  just  as  good  a  fol- 
lower, perhaps  a  better  follower,  than  I  am  a  leader,  and 
I  am  perfectly  willing  to  occupy  either  position.  I  would 
be  recreant  to  the  gt^eat  labor  movement  and  all  it  portends 
now  and  for  the  future  if  I  did  not  take  you  into  my  con- 
fidence, men  and  women  of  labor,  and  tell  you  what  I  have 
told  you.  I  am  apprehensive,  justly  so,  justified  by  every 
event  in  the  whole  history  of  Labor,  that  a  great  mistake 
may  be  made,  a  great  injury  inflicted  upbn  our  fellows,  not 
for  a  day,  not  for  a  year,  not  for  a  decade,  but  perhaps  for 
many,  many,  many  years  to  come.  I  want  to  present  that 
view  to  you  so  that  you  may  understand  the  situation  clearly. 

I  have  spoken  calmly  and  without  ceremony  or  attempt 
to  touch  your  feelings,  but  simply  to  touch  the  innermost 
recesses  of  your  minds  and  to  lay  before  you  the  responsibility 
which  rests  upon  you. 


16 


A  discussion  ensued  and  a  motion  presented  and  unanimously  adopted  that  the 
sense  of  the  meeting  was  that  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  should  publish  President 
Gompers'  remarks. 

The  following  were  present  and  participated  in  the  meeting — some  of  them  in  the 
discussion: 

RECONSTRUCTION  COMMITTEE 

John  Frey,  Editor,  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  Commercial  Tribune  Building,  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. 

A.  O.  Wharton,  President,  Railroad  Employes  Department,  A.  F.  of  L.  Building, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

John  Moore,  Delegate  from  the  United  Mine  Workers,  77  Ruggery  Building, 
Columbus,  Ohio. 

G.    W.    Perkins,    President,    Cigarmakers'    International    Union,    Monon    Building, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

Matthew  Woll,  President,  International  Photo-Engravers'  Union  of  North 
America,  6111  Bishop  Street,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

SOCIAL  INSURANCE  COMMITTEE 

John  A.  Voll,  President,  Glass  Bottle  Blowers,  Colonial  Trust  Building,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

John  A.  Manning,  Secretary-Treasurer,  Union  Label  Trades  Department,  A.  F.  of  L. 
Building,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Sara  Conboy,  Secretary-Treasurer,  United  Textile  Workers  of  America,  Rooms 
86-87  Bible  House,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Hugh  Frayne,  Organizer,  A.  F.  of  L.,  Bartholdi  Building,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Collis  Lovely,  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers'  International  Union,  246  Summer  Street, 
Boston,  Mass. 

OTHERS  PRESENT 

Samuel  Gompers,  President,  A.  F.  of  L.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

T.  A.  Rickert,  Seventh  Vice-President,  A.  F.  of  L.,  Chicago,  111. 

Frank  Morrison,  Secretary,  A.  F.  of  L.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

J.  P.  Coughlin,  member  Joint  Reconstruction  Committee,  New  York  Central 
Federated  Union,  New  York  City. 

T.  J.  Curtis,  Chairman,  Joint  Committee,  Tunnel  and  Subway  Constructors' 
International  Union,  New  York  City. 

M.  Swartz,  Women's  Trade  Union  League  Reconstruction  Committee,  New 
York  City. 

Rose  Schneiderman,  Joint  Reconstruction  Committee  of  the  Central  Federated 
Union,  Central  Labor  Union  and  the  Women's  Trade  Union  League,  New  York  City. 

Jo.  Coffin,  member  Typographical  Union,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Ann  Hogan,  representing  Central  Labor  Union  and  Central  Federated  Union 
and  Women's  Trade  Union  League,  New  York  City. 

Hilda  E.  Swenson,  Joint  Reconstruction  Committee,  Central  Federated  Union, 
Women's  Trade  Union  League,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Thomas  Rock,  Pavers'  Union  No.  1,  Member  Reconstruction  Committee  Central 
Federated  Union,  New  York  City. 

Robert  Maisel,  Director  American  Alliance  for  Labor  and  Democracy,  New 
York  City. 

R.  S.  Sexton,  Legislative  Committeeman,  A.  F.  of  L.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Henry  Sterling,  Legislative  Committeeman,  A.  F.  of  L.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Harry  L.  Morrison,  Secretary  Laundry  Workers'  Union,  Troy,  New  York. 

Joseph  Dehan,  Cigarmakers'  International  Union,  New  York  City. 

J.  E.  Farrell,  Cigarmakers'  International  Union,  New  York  City. 

John  Sullivan,  International  Brewery  and  Soft  Drink  Workers  of  America.  New 
York  City. 

Edward   L.   Hannah,   Central   Federated   Union,   New  York   City. 

David  L.  Levy,  Cigarmakers'  Union  No.  13,  Bronx,  New  York. 

James  P.  Holland.  President  New  York  State  Federation  of  Labor,  New  York  City. 

Leon  Worthall,  Journeymen  Barbers'  International  Union,  New  York  City. 

Jack  Zatnford,  General  Organizer,  Bakery  and  Confectionery  Workers,  Chicago, 
Illinois. 

Daniel  S.  Jacobs,  Cigarmakers'  Union  No.  13,  New  York  City. 

Ephriam  Kaufmann,  General  Organizer,  United  Garment  Workers  of  America, 
New  York  City. 

B.  A.  Larger,  General  Secretary,  United  Garment  Workers.  New  York  City. 

Ernest  Bohm,  Secretary,  Central  Federated  Union,  New  York  City. 

J.   H.  Tapken,  International  Brotherhood  of  Blacksmiths,  New  York  City. 

J.  S.  Cottrell,  International  Brotherhood  of  Blacksmiths.  New  York  City. 


